


A Storm

by EpicNerd



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Astraphobia, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Protect Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Protective Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Scared Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:47:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28913325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpicNerd/pseuds/EpicNerd
Summary: A storm wakes Adrien in the night and leaves him vulnerable.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 4
Kudos: 143





	A Storm

Adrien’s head bolted off his pillow, his eyes opening just in time to take in the large flash of lightning outside his window. Thunder rumbling made it feel as if the house were shaking, and Adrien squeezed his bed sheets in his fists as his heart raced in his chest. Beside him, Plagg lay sound asleep on the other pillow, snoring quietly.

Adrien’s eyes were wide and vigilant despite the sudden awakening before the sun had even risen up from its bed on the horizon. The teen forced his breathing to steady before getting out of bed, feeling too hot to be under his blankets and sheets.

As he made his way into the bathroom, Adrien saw that it was barely past four in the morning. Sighing as he turned on the light, he walked over to the sink. Turning it on, he splashed cold water on his face, trying to drown out his irrational fear.

Drying his face off, Adrien stares his reflection down with a deep frown. In truth, he was thinking about his mother. She would always comfort him during frightening storms, but she wasn’t around to do so now.

“You okay, Adrien?” Plagg asked, floating in as he rubbed his eye sleepily.

“Yeah. Sorry for waking you up.”

“Well, since I am up, I might as well chow down on a yummy treat!”

‘Yummy treat…’

Adrien got hung up on the two words until he could pinpoint the connection that his brain was trying to make.

“Marinette has yummy treats. And I heard her telling Alya that she was going to pull an all-nighter to finish a project.”

“Hm? Why are you thinking about Marinette in the middle of the night? I thought you were in love with Ladybug!”

“Come on, Plagg. Marinette’s just a friend…and I could use a friend right about now.”

Realizing what track Adrien’s train of thought was running on, Plagg sighs, putting his half-eaten piece of Camembert down.

“You’re not allowed to complain if I start snoring in your bag during class.”

“Thanks, Plagg. Claws out!”

Activating the black cat miraculous, Plagg fuses into the silver ring, turning it black as Adrien is consumed in a neon-green light. Energy buzzed around him as he transformed, still giddy every time he became a superhero. When the light dissipated, Chat Noir stood with a grin on his face.

Running over to the window, Chat almost leaps out when another flash of lightning makes him lose his footing, involuntarily taking a step back. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he forces himself to find his resolve. Ready, he pushes against the glass, leaping out into the downpour.

It was hard to see through the rain, and his night-vision actually hindered him by distorting his sight further. As fast as he could go while still being careful, Chat made his way across the rooftops to the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Marinette’s room was illuminated with light. Upon further approach, he was able to see her cutting a piece of paper at her desk. Smiling, he taps on the window, startling her.

“Chat Noir?!”

He points upwards before leaping away from the circular window onto the balcony. He ignores the rain soaking him to the bone as he waits. A moment later, Marinette pushes the skylight open, a confused look on her face.

“What are you doing here? Is there an akuma?”

“Nope. Everyone in Paris is sound asleep. Well, everyone except you.”

“And you. Don’t cats hate getting wet?” Marinette asked, accidentally falling into the habit of bantering with Chat Noir while she was Ladybug.

“Meh, this cat’s waterproof,” Chat replied, flexing his arms.

Marinette put her hand over her mouth, failing to hide her giggles. Chat was going to be polite and wait until he was invited inside, but lightning flashed again, temporarily brightening the dark sky. Electricity shots up Chat’s spine, making his eyes bulge as his breathing momentarily ceased as if he never took a breath before.

Without thinking, he dives towards the skylight. Marinette reacts quickly, jumping out of the way and allowing the hero to soar into her room. Confused, she closes the glass trapdoor, not entirely sure what just happened. Chat, however, was sitting up on her bed, his face red as he now had two things to calm down over.

“Uh…Chat Noir?” Marinette hesitantly said, not sure how to behave around him when she wasn’t also transformed.

“Sorry for coming in through the window; dreadful etiquette, I know,” Chat rambled, speaking quickly as he felt embarrassed.

“Chat Noir, what are you doing here?”

There were so many things she wanted to scold him about; most issues boiling down to being transformed without reason and visiting a civilian while transformed. But, there was something about Chat that made her keep her mouth shut.

Was he…shaking? For some reason, she felt that it wasn’t because of the rain. His pupils were small despite his eyes being wide. And, if she listened close enough, she could swear he was quietly panting.

Chat Noir looked away, regretting paying a visit. He felt as if he had an obligation to be heroic, fearless, and strong while under the mask. He wished that he had come as Adrien. He wished that his Mom was alive so that she could comfort him. Neither of those wishes would be granted, so he froze as he thought about what to do or say.

Why was he even here? What kind of comfort was he expecting from Marinette? What he desired was for someone he trusted to hold him and comfort him, and he had looked to his mother to fill that role for so long. So, because Marinette was the first person he thought of, he imagined his classmate playing the part instead?

He suddenly felt very awkward, and his silence made Marinette feel the same. They were both sitting on her bed, alone in her room in the middle of the night. He had come by unannounced and couldn’t give a reason as to why he was here in the first place. The air felt heavy, and both wanted to backtrack a few minutes.

Then, lightning flashed again, and Chat was no longer sitting with his legs crossed. His arms wrapped around Marinette’s waist, his head hovering by her hip. Shaking, rain drops that had been settled in his hair began dripping down his face. When the thunder rumbled shortly after, he whimpered slightly, his shoulders tensing as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Chat…?”

Marinette was officially convinced she was hallucinating, because there was no way that Chat Noir would pay her any attention if she wasn’t Ladybug, and she didn’t even know what to make of him hugging her waist. That is, until the timing of his actions clicked.

“Chat, are you afraid of thunderstorms?”

Not able to force enough air into his lungs in order to speak, Chat Noir nods his head vigorously, not quite processing how he was positioned yet.

Conflicted on how she was possibly supposed to react in this bizarre situation, Marinette thought about what she would do as Ladybug.

‘I would comfort Chat Noir if he was scared in front of me.’

She knew that’s what she would do, but it was still weird that the situation called for her to do that without the mask donned on. Taking a deep breath and settling her overactive mind, Marinette lifts her hand up and places it on top of Chat’s head between his leather ears.

In a horizontal line, she slowly moves her hand between the two ears, lifting her hand up and starting again every time she reached one end. His hair was soft but slightly damp from the rain, though something was calming about stroking Chat’s head.

Through the pattering of the rain on the roof, a soft purr began resonating in the room as Chat’s body slowly relaxed.

Though she had heard Chat purr before during Prime Queen, it still shocked her to hear the sound come from a human being. Her hand froze for a moment before beginning the rhythm once again. Closing her own eyes, she allowed the bizarreness of the situation slip away, letting herself be calm so that, hopefully, the boy she saw as one of her best friends would follow in her footsteps.

Peace erased the tension of the room, allowing a sense of tranquility to soothe the two teens. The light from the desk lamp was dimmer from the bed, making the room add to the feeling of warmth. The rain seemed to harmonize with Chat’s purring, creating a steady sound that made both the teens sleepy. Marinette’s stroking became slower and slower until her hand eventually just rested on top of Chat’s head. A soft smile rested on both of their faces as their muscles relaxed, their breathing quiet and even.

Slowly, Chat’s eyes opened. That was followed by him looking at where he was, not just in location but in proximity to Marinette. That was then followed by the situation finally clicking for him, and he stiffened before easing himself up and away so that he was sitting upright. Though his mask covered his cheeks, they burned red just as much as his real ears. He found his eyes crawling up to the skylight, where he wanted to flee through. Marinette also seemed to feel awkward about the situation.

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. Are you okay?” she asks, looking genuinely concerned.

They both looked through the window, where the sun cast a grey look on the sky. The clouds, though still covering the blue atmosphere, had stopped letting rain fall on Paris.

“Yes. Thank you, Marinette. For helping me through the storm, I mean,” Chat said, switching between a feeling of warmth that he couldn’t quite place and a feeling of embarrassment, which he had felt multiple times in the last hour alone.

“Bravery is not living without fear, but living despite it,” Marinette said wisely, though she didn’t really know why she said it.

In that moment, Chat Noir saw so much of Ladybug in Marinette that his jaw dropped slightly. He had referred to her as their everyday-Ladybug before, but it rang true with a sense of clarity in that moment.

Chat’s eyes softened to match his warm smile.

“I should get going now,” he said, pushing against the window and crawling through it before poking his head back into the room, “I owe you one, Princess.”

With that, he closed the skylight behind him before leaping off back towards his house.


End file.
